Estate Planning for Corporate Executives and Business Owners

As an accomplished leader you understand the value of careful planning so when it comes to protecting your family and your business, corporate estate planning is essential.

As part of our services for custom executive benefits plans, Alberta’s Benefit Strategies Inc. can also provide you with information and estate planning advice, and help you to understand the complexities of estate planning in Canada.

We will walk you through our complete corporate estate planning checklist to ensure all of your affairs are organized in order to:

Achieve your personal and business objectives

Retain and maximize the transfer value of your business

Optimize your tax planning

Examine and select appropriate creditor protection strategies

Ultimately our professional estate planning services ensure that you and your beneficiaries have peace of mind and that your succession planning comes together seamlessly.

Estate Planning Advice in Canada

Benefit Strategies Inc. services Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge and other communities throughout Alberta (and British Columbia) and we can play an active role as your tax planner, advisor and strategic business consultant throughout the entire estate planning process including the following areas:

Estate Planning Asset Protection

Asset protection is the process of taking nonexempt assets that are subject to creditors’ claims and repositioning them as exempt assets that are out of reach of creditors’ claims. In the context of estate planning, asset protection will exempt your important assets from being used to pay off creditors after your death.

Benefit Strategies Inc. uses advanced asset protection planning for your estate with techniques including family limited liability companies and irrevocable trusts for you, your spouse, children and other beneficiaries.

Inheritance Tax Estate Planning

Unlike many other countries there is no inheritance tax in Canada. Upon death all of your assets are transferred to your estate and used to settle any unresolved taxes owed to the government and creditors. Only once the estate is settled do your beneficiaries receive the inheritance.

In order to minimize the tax burden of settling your estate there are a number of estate planning concepts that can be applied to potentially taxable areas including:

RRSPs RRIFs Capital Gains on Real Estate and Shares

There are also a number of inheritance planning options including direct inheritance and inheritance through testamentary trust that we can walk you through.

Transfer of Business Ownership

If you are a business owner a major part of estate planning is business succession planning or transfer of ownership. Ownership of your business can be transferred outright to a beneficiary you have been training up who will have full control of the company. Alternatively a trust can be used to control the assets of the business.

Within Estate Planning you must determine the best way to transfer various attributes of your business to different beneficiaries such as the value, income, control or growth through various sharing models. Ask us about shareholder Buy Sell Agreements.

Our succession planning ensures that your business is transitioned to the new owner in the most tax efficient manner possible, whether it is a family member, key employee or third party.

Establishing an estate freeze to hold the value of your ownership and transfer future growth to accrue to the future beneficiary

Establishing Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption (LCGE)

Reducing probate taxes through various planning techniques

Custom Estate Planning Law for Corporations

Your trusted financial advisors at Benefit Strategies Inc. in Edmonton are committed to helping you develop a sound estate plan. Our Estate Planning Checklist uses the following general process to provide a holistic approach to realizing your personal and business goals:

Identify and review of your personal and financial priorities

Highlight succession issues and develop an appropriate plan

Outline your options to fund retirement

Discuss your options to withdraw assets from a business tax efficiently

Identify ways to protect your business in the case of premature death or disability

Identify tax liability at death

Create strategic plan to minimize inheritance tax

Ask Us About Corporate Estate Planning

Estate planning can be complicated and emotional, especially in the case of a business owner who must plan the future of both their personal assets and their corporate assets.

Like you, we want to ensure that you provide adequately for your family and loved ones well into the future. Our estate planning advisors help to ensure your estate is distributed in a timely and fair manner and that your taxes are minimized during your lifetime.

Let us show you how to protect your assets. For more no obligation corporate estate planning information or to inquire about our executive benefits packages, including critical illness coverage and disability insurance plans or if you have questions about estate planning in Canada, please contact us:

Call us at 780-437-5070Emailus about corporate estate planning advice. Book an estate planning consultation.

Estate Planning Protects your loved ones. Settles your affairs in a timely manner. Gives you control over how your estate is distributed.